After pleading for half the season, after grumbling, complaining and moaning after every single game we finally got to see almost exactly what many of us wanted.

First the starting lineup
Watson
Rush
DJones
Granger
Hibbert

It was a breath of fresh air, I almost couldn't believe we were going to see this done. And JOB kept them in for a fair amount of time, no quick yanks as they struggled to stop Shaq and Lebron.

Then of course we had Price in his now normal backup PG role.

We had Troy in a somewhat reduced backup C role which is perfectly acceptable to me, I'm not looking for more TJ Ford treatments here.

Dun played (poorly yet again) but his PT was properly limited to match his ineffectiveness.

McBob played (only meh, robbed on 2 of those foul calls though) and got a nice little burn, nothing special, just the kind of minutes to let him grow and find a productive role while keeping us from being ultra small.

Maybe the only tweek I would have applied specific to last night would be to pull Danny out due to his dreadful shooting and give Luther about 10 of Danny's minutes. I don't love being that small (l'd go Watson, Head, Rush, DJones/McBob, Roy/Troy) but you needed some outside shooting and Danny didn't have it.

But that was it, that was the only playing time or rotation thing I would have changed, and I'd prefer that Granger just didn't stink the joint up like he did. (PS - don't blame it on Lebron, he almost never defended a Danny miss other than a shot block)

I'm right there with McKeyFan, Peck and plenty of others that was at my wits end, but for one night I actually saw a rotation I believed in. The one "voted on" ;) by Pacers Digest in about 2 months worth of threads, over and over again.

Credit where it's due.

And a side benefit to this is that it helped push the focus back on the players for me. I still don't love the playing style, but with that rotation even the style was a little more traditional. Mostly I noticed how guys couldn't hit open shots and were letting the team down rather than wondering why JOB was making it harder for them to match up.

Hopefully we can see this kind of rotation for 8-10 more games and see if it settles in. The Cavs/Lakers games showed that we clearly are not capable of competing with real playoff teams, so there's nothing to lose in trying to find a stable, developing roster.

Pacersfan46

01-30-2010, 10:32 AM

Meh. He did it against the Cavs because he knew we'd lose either way. Now he can point at this game and say, ... "See, we lost with Troy coming off the bench. That's why I start him!"

He'll start next game.

-- Steve --

Roaming Gnome

01-30-2010, 10:43 AM

Meh. He did it against the Cavs because he knew we'd lose either way. Now he can point at this game and say, ... "See, we lost with Troy coming off the bench. That's why I start him!"

He'll start next game.

-- Steve --

...and as an added bonus, our next two games are against Toronto. This usually means that Roy will be shelved because "of match-ups". If we see last night's line-up over the next two games.... I will be surprised!

the jaddler

01-30-2010, 11:04 AM

It is very possible that this could be a big ploy for JOB to be able to play murphy even more and not play the young guys at all....but we will have to wait and see.....

vnzla81

01-30-2010, 11:13 AM

I have a feeling that they are listening to the fans, as soon as I saw Roy starting and Troy in the bench that was the first thing that came to my mind, Mc Bob even had some playing time, I was amazed and happy at the same time because I finally got to see the line up we been talking about for years and also because the young players got to play more minutes, like I said in the other thread I don't mind if the pacers lose with the young players they need to get the experience and at the same time they need to know what they have and what they need, watching the young players develop is better for me that watching the old guys winning a game and taking minutes from the guys who are going to be the future.

Los Angeles

01-30-2010, 11:50 AM

I don't see how any player understands thier role or how any lineup can show what they are capable of without consistency. Jim changed the lineup?! AGAIN?!?!?!? Boooooo Coach!

People talk about chemistry like it's a personality thing. That's only part of it. Chemistry is everyone knowing exactly what thier role is and learning to play together. Jim OBrien has made this completely impossible. Boooo!

Naptown_Seth

01-30-2010, 12:07 PM

Well I have to admit that part of me wonders if it's a setup or will be used as an excuse.

Obviously I said I want to see another 8-10 games of this. Then if he wants to finish the year going some other way because people stunk then I'll listen. But if we see these guys play pretty well in this format than I'd expect it to continue being used.

It's time for JOB to find out, and one game vs an elite team doesn't cut it as "proof".

We'll see I guess. I'm just saying if he wants to make the griping go away he found a major key in how he ran the rotation on FRI night. Reign in the 3s when it's not falling and he'll be pretty close to something we can handle watching.

Like Vnzla81, I can handle watching Roy, Price or McBob fail because it fills my desire to find out about the possible future. He needs to realize that this is the smart goal at this point, to work with guys and to investigate the current talent in order to better identify the true holes.

Say McBob goes off and really fits as a rebounding PF and say it's last year instead. Well then maybe you don't use your pick on Tyler but on a PG instead, then you don't have to sign Watson. Saves money without really changing where they are now.

I don't want this year to be the same possible mistake. And maybe you find that McBob got really lucky for a few games. Seems doubtful, but I have seen him play very mediocre (including last night), so maybe. Well then we know we can let him go without getting burned later when he kills it for another team.

Or maybe one of these guys proves some trade value at least when other teams see them.

It just seems like a smart bet, very little to lose and at least a decent amount to be gained, including the good will of the fan base.